Muyil and Chunyaxche Archaeological Ruins

Muyil (or Chanyaxche) archaeological site is located on the mainland side of a lagoon in the Sian Ka´an Biosphere, about 20 kilometres south of the town of Tulum. It is believed that Muyil was once an important trading post as it is ideally located in the proximity of two lagoons: Muyil and Chunyaxche. Muyil is one of the earliest and longest inhabited ancient Maya settlements of the Yucatan peninsula. Artifacts found in Muyil date back as early as 350 BC to as late as 1200-1500 AD. Muyil is linked to the Caribbean via a canal, which made it a vital trading center of jade, obsidian, salt, chicle, honey and cocoa.

Muyil site has a fabulous ancient walkway, called sacbe and meaning “white way”, through the jungle to the lagoons where you can hire a guide to take you on a boat tour around the mangrove area in the Biosphere. The jungle portion ends with a chance to climb up an observation tower to see the Sian Ka’an Biosphere from a fabulous bird’s eye view. Most of the buildings on the site date back to 1100-1200 AD. El Castillo is 17 meters high and Pink Palace shows evidence of stucco used for cover and decoration.

Muyil is open 7 days a week from 8am-5pm and is a ½ day trip (or less) from Akumal and can easily be combined with a Tulum or cenote day trip.